The Pathology of Purity

In observing American fundamentalism for more than a decade there is one common thread that runs through the movement. It is the romanticized idea of purity, particularly sexual and doctrinal. While the idea is ostensibly innocuous, in practice it can be insidious and always threatens to politically spin out of control.

The idea of applying purity to human beings — who are impure by definition — creates an impossible standard that can’t be met. The result is that millions of people are haunted by perceived moral failure and tortured by unnecessary guilt. Instead of producing healthy spiritual lives, this concept can create neurotic people with various complexes, who view themselves as worthless sinners. Such a damaging belief system may have a corrosive affect on self-esteem and creates needless internal conflicts.

The pursuit of unattainable perfection has led to a cottage industry of so-called “experts” who allegedly can help one achieve the unachievable. The proliferation of products and websites profiting from “purity” is problematic. There is no shortage of charlatans to fight “The War on Pleasure” and strictly forbid any form of fun for a fee. In some cases, the rules are so stringent that masturbation is considered a menace.

“God designed sex to be profound, which masturbation is not; it is shallow,” wrote Dr. Harry W. Schaumburg on the website Restoring Sexual Purity. “God made sex to be fruitful, but masturbation treats sex like a commodity rather than a capacity for producing life. God made sex to be selflessly God-centered, not self-centered and self-satisfying.”

Ultimately, religions and cults that focus on purity have an ulterior motive, which is to maintain control over the lives of its followers. If pleasure is policed, then faith-based father figures can ration it. By squeezing out the “impure” competition, such groups create a monopoly over one’ mind.

The idea of protecting the potential sinner from “falling” is as elusive a goal of purity itself. No matter how cloistered, people will seek to explore their humanity, which includes enjoyment and fulfillment. Some fundamentalists hate secular society because temptations — epitomized by the concept of demons — are often stronger than their faith.

Instead of learning the healthy practice of moderation, many of these individuals embark on the pathological path of prohibition. Indoctrinated with a “just say no” ethos, the repression builds up until the fantasies become overwhelming fetishes that spiral out of control.

Unable to extinguish the fire internally, some of these individuals work though external means — namely politics — to eliminate temptations. This is why they have feverishly fought to close down adult bookstores and nude beaches. Such nosey behavior mirrors that of the teetotalers who fought to enact the disaster known as prohibition. Those who cling to this philosophy subconsciously want to ban from society what they cannot banish in themselves.

The quest for “purity” takes its most perverse form in the hands of Christian Reconstructionists. They believe that in order for Christ to return, they have to purify the world by instituting theocracy. This vision often includes executing gay people and adulterers.

The equivalent of such repression is already carried out in many Islamic countries. In Malaysia, which is considered a relatively moderate nation, a Muslim woman was recently sentenced to be whipped for the “crime” of enjoying a beer. God forbid Allah Time had to compete with Miller Time for personal satisfaction.

Of course, the puritanical enforcement of behavior rarely extends to those on the top of the moral hierarchy. In his chilling book, “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power”, Jeff Sharlet writes in alarming detail about members of Congress who believe they are above the law because they are ordained by God as leaders. This must-read book gets into the heads of the hypocrites and allows one to grasp how they justify their tawdry affairs, while passing laws to penalize the very behavior that they had embraced on the sly.

The quest for purity is a sign of sickness and insecurity. It comes from individuals with serious hang-ups who want other people to be as miserable as they are. In order to make the world antiseptic, these zealots often become virtually anti-everyone and everything. It is with great irony that the more a person or nation obsesses about moral cleanliness the filthier, more violent and corrupt they usually become.

In chasing a concept that is elusive, many fundamentalists have become more elitist and exclusive, while intellectually reclusive. This helps explains the perpetual anger, bitterness and frustration that defines populist and political social conservatism.

About the Author

Wayne Besen is the Founding Executive Director of Truth Wins Out and author of “Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth” (Haworth, 2003). In 2010, Besen was awarded the “Visionary Award” at the Out Music Awards for organizing the American Prayer Hour, an event which shined a spotlight on the role American evangelicals played in the introduction of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

13 Comments

When one thinks of the right wing and “purity” one also thinks of another right wing word: “cleanse” – remember that word from the former Yugoslavia?

joelAugust 25, 2009 at 11:15 pm -

Freedom is a battle worth fighting for EVERY DAY. Your article is as timely as it is accurate. -Bravo. America sacrifices whom it deems expendable and sees to it other countries in-fighting takes enough lives to keep the populations from exceeding earth’s life support capabilities. Woe is to see the persons protected by their wealth and not their worth. I grow weary as a constant target for extermination by wealthy white religeous zealots scapegoating us GLBTG folk. I believe “Purity” is the unattainable perfection that is “God”. One can battle daily to subdue their own hurtful or angry thoughts, by no other way can the world be “cleansed”..

CaitAugust 26, 2009 at 9:38 am -

I have to disagree with this article,just a bit.I do believe complete purity is impossible,and that right wingers could focus on other things besides that.But choosing to try to be “pure” is a personal decision,and it’s what I’ve chosen to do.I’m 17 and a lesbian,and I realize that abstaining from sex before marriage is going to be difficult(especially since I live in Michigan and we’ll be lucky if we get full equal rights by 2020).But it’s a choice I’ve made and I’m comfortable with it.
“The quest for purity is a sign of sickness and insecurity.”
…That bothered me a bit.Again,the “quest for purity” is a personal choice,and something that takes a lot of strength in a world that glorifies sex.And you also have to realize,it’s not just religious people who are striving for purity.I have a few friends with purity rings,two of which are atheists.
Wow,this was longer than I intended.Oh well.

This blog comes at an interesting moment in the Lectionary as this week Jesus confronts the religious fundamentalist of his day in Mark 7 who want to condemn his disciples because they don’t keep the Purity and Holiness Codes of their day by washing their hands before they eat. Jesus was constantly confronting the fundamentalists for their misinterpretation and misapplication of scripture. The religious leaders were always accusing him of breaking the Holiness & Purity Codes because of what he did and because of who he associated with.

He tells them quite clearly: “Isaiah hit the nail on the head when he spoke about you. He saw right through your hypocrisy when he wrote this: “These people mouth all the right words, but their hearts aren’t in it. Their worship is just one big sham. They invent rules to suit themselves and then teach them as the word of God.’
“At the end of the day, you are more concerned about your own rules and traditions than you are about what God actually wants of people.”

Jesus didn’t like the morality police of his day anymore than we like them in our day.

Purity rings and abstinence do not make one pure. It is this obsession with sex that often clouds from real moral issues.

Is the virgin who ignores the homeless man on the street more “pure” than the prostitute who gave the hobo a few dollars for breakfast? Personally, I don’t think so.

And, why is an adult who does not suffer from sexual hangups and enjoys sex considered “impure” anyway? This is a backward, anti-sex standard that holds the frigid, prude and sexually damaged on a pedestal that they do not belong.

I do applaud young people who hold off on sex until they are ready – whenever that may be. They should be fully supported and never pressured into sexual situations. But, such willpower in teenagers is a sign of maturity, not purity. Let’s not confuse the two issues.

Priya LynnAugust 27, 2009 at 12:31 pm -

Right on Wayne.

brad andersonAugust 28, 2009 at 1:59 am -

apparently wayne doesn’t know the bible very well,
in as much as the words pure and purify appear
numerous times in both the old and new testiment.
in fact, we are commanded to be pure (1 tim 5:22)
we are to be pure in heart (matt 5:8), we are purified
by the blood of Christ, so contrary to Wayne’s
inane blathering, purity is a noble thing, something
God aspires us to.
those who maintain sexual purity are to be commended
rather than derided. Sorry wayne, but you are way off
the mark on this one!

brad andersonAugust 28, 2009 at 2:22 am -

Rev Ray
while Jesus in Mark 7 indeed castigated the pharisees
for thier rigid adherence to man made traditions
handed down from generations, he was doing so
because they set aside God’s commandments for
those man made traditions, you will note that Jesus
later in this chapter nullified the prohabitions
against certain foods. No where in this passage
or in any other passage does Jesus nullify the
moral laws of the Torah. I defy you to show me
where in the bible Jesus nullifies the moral laws
(laws against adultry, homosexuality, incest,
beastiality, etc.)

MandyAugust 29, 2009 at 10:19 am -

Brad, I agree with Cait, and think that “purity” is a personal choice, and I don’t think that people should let a book dictate how they live their lives. I grew up in a strict Christian home, where I was taught that such things as masturbation and homosexual urges were disgusting and that anyone who thought otherwise was pretty much going to hell. Therefore, in seventh grade, when I began to have those urges (perfectly normal, I believe for children that age), I thought there was something seriously wrong with me and went into a severe depression and contemplated suicide. I know better now, and I am comfortable in my life choice of bisexuality. I applaude you, Cait, for choosing to wait until you are married to have sex, it will be something special for your partner that you waited for her. :) I too am 17 and a virgin, but I don’t know that I will wait until marriage to have sex. I simply haven’t fallen in love yet. Sex should be about love. Period. Not about “God” or “purity” or any other people and circumstances that would try to worm their ways into something that is a personal choice.
I don’t know if all of that made sense to everyone, but it made sense to me. I don’t want to offend anyone, just speak from the heart on something that was a big issue in my childhood. I urge everyone to be cautious in how they teach their children about sex, don’t ever be condemning, as it may cause lasting damage to their self-esteem.

Priya LynnAugust 29, 2009 at 12:24 pm -

That made perfect sense Mandy, nicely said.

DaveTheWaveSeptember 2, 2009 at 1:39 pm -

“beastiality”?

Jeesh right-wingers always get that spelling wrong…they are also obsessed with sex. Why aren’t you obsessed with feeding the millions of starving kids in the world? Or learning to spell?

Actually brad, as a Jew, I can tell you that we see all of the Torah’s laws as being “moral.” Deciding to defy one or all is one’s own moral choice. But, then again, I AM a Jew, so really in the eyes of your type of Christian I killed your god and continue to defy his supposed divine authority. So in my case it’s probably for you like asking a murderer about morality.

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